Drilling and excavation through the use of appropriate mechanisms are the techniques that are traditionally employed in order to gain access through a substrate, typically the subsoil, for different applications (searching for water and fossil fuels, geological studies, etc.) and different targets (collection or deposition of materials, simple opening of a passage towards the surface). Many techniques of mechanical nature are commonly used, which include, for example, quasi-static thrust, rotation, percussion, vibration, and combinations thereof.
Although these traditional systems have achieved good levels of effectiveness over the years, they still suffer from a few drawbacks.
One drawback is that they at least partially alter or even destroy the substrate and may require high energy consumption.